Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2004 and Vietnam War military hero, yesterday described the Bush administration’s Middle East polices as "amateur hour" and said its tough rhetoric against Iraq was a "huge mistake."

In his criticism of the administration, Kerry used a recent appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press" to accuse the administration of making a "catastrophic mistake" with its initial Middle East policy. He described the battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan as "a failed military operation" and the subsequent Operation Anaconda as one "which also did not do the job."

Sen. Kerry also gave an across-the-board critique of the administration’s foreign policy, during a recent interview with the Washington Post.

"It’s reluctant. It’s shifting. It’s inconsistent — and to some measure disengaged globally," he said. "It’s reactive, not proactive. Up until 9/11 it was singularly unilateral. Since then it’s less so, but not half as forceful and encompassing as I think America’s foreign policy ought to be at this moment. Not as bold and not as visionary."

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who came back to the United States to become a leader in the anti-war movement, said his experiences in that conflict shaped his views about the importance of challenging the administration.

"One of the great lessons I learned in Vietnam the hard way is that bad things happen when people don’t ask hard questions," he said.

Kerry said he continues to have deep reservations about the war on terrorism but remains reluctant to outline his views in detail.

"If I really lay it out there, it’s going to be a major criticism because I really differ with the way they began the war," he said. "I think it was not effectively targeted with respect to Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden from almost Day One. I’m not going to go into what I would have done differently but . . . it begins at the beginning. Strategic and covert activities could have been far more effective."

Kerry also said that President Bush made a "catastrophic mistake" by refusing to take an early, active role in the Mid-East conflict.

"Whether it was because they decided it wasn’t a winner politically, or they decided it was Clinton’s deal and they didn’t want anything to do with it, they broke that (US policy) continuity. ... They sent mixed signals to every side, if any signals at all. And, in the end, I think they have contributed significantly to their own dilemma and to the dilemma of the Middle East today," said Kerry.

"This administration, from day one, I think made a catastrophic mistake. We have been involved in the Middle East at the presidential level from Henry Kissinger in 1973 without breach of continuity all the way through President Clinton," Sen. Kerry said on "Meet the Press".

Kerry said he feels the Bush team was at least partially responsible for mixed signals sent to Israel and the Palestinians.

He said Bush has "sent the most extraordinary mixed messages," offering the green light to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to retaliate against Palestinian attacks and then seeking to rein in Israeli action.

"It’s a most incredible display in my judgment of any kind of amateur hour, and their reason is there is no one person in charge," Sen. Kerry said. "Colin Powell is not being allowed to be secretary of state, in my judgment. They restrain him."